Crafts

I know I’ve said it a million times on here before, but I’m gonna say it again – I LOVE making simple updates to my decor with inexpensive items and supplies.  A few years ago I made a set of chalkboard wall hooks for my front entryway (you can see that post with its embarrassing photography here – wait until you see how much my skills have improved!).  I got tired of the chalkboard look, however, and needed to give it a new look.  I wanted to add French enamel house numbers, but at over $20 a piece, that was too pricey.  So I got to work and made my own Faux French Enamel Number Tags that look pretty close to the real thing!  

Supplies Needed for Faux French Enamel Number Tags

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• Oval wood cutouts
• Acrylic paint (white, black, brown, orange)
• Vinyl number stickers OR number stencils and black paint
• Mod Podge (glossy finish)
• Dark brown wax
• Paintbrushes
• Stencil brush
• Drill
• Material to hang or affix your French enamel number tags (I used decorative furniture nails to fasten mine to the wall hooks)

How to Make Faux French Enamel Number Tags

Start by painting the oval wood cutouts white.  Regular acrylic paint does the trick for this step.

Once dry, place your number stickers onto the ovals or stencil your numbers onto them.  I cut out numbers with my Silhouette Portrait but you absolutely do not need a vinyl cutting machine for this project!  Regular black number stickers or stencils and paint will work perfectly!  

Once all of the numbers are in place and/or dry, cover everything with a coat of Mod Podge in glossy finish.  This is meant to give the ovals a glossy look like enamel.  You don’t want them to be dull or they will look less realistic.  

After they’ve dried, apply brown wax in strategic areas (like around the outside edges of the ovals), to help give the faux enamel number tags an aged look (you can see it on No. 47 in the below photo).  I used this type of brown wax, which is what I use on furniture projects and had available. If you don’t use brown wax regularly, buy a less expensive brand of wax like this!  

The brown wax will dry quickly, and then you can add some faux rust to the enamel tags with paint!  I got a little carried away with my “rust” and wish I wouldn’t have put so much on.  I’d recommend applying the paint very sparingly and in small areas to see how you like the look.  You can always add more, but you can’t always take it away!  All you do is dab a thick coat of black paint with a stencil brush, then a thick coat of brown paint over that, and then a little (but thick) dab of orange paint to create a bumpy rust look!  

After all of that, you’re ready to drill holes in the Faux French Enamel Number Tags and use them!  

You can fasten them to wood like I did, tie them to baskets with twine, use them as house numbers – whatever!  

There are so many uses for them, but I do love them on my entryway hooks!  And I love that they cost hardly anything to make.  

How would you use Faux French Enamel Number Tags in your decor?

-Bre

A couple of years ago my husband and I magically had a babysitter on a Saturday afternoon and we ended up at Goodwill.  For the life of me, I cannot remember why!  That is such a strange place to find yourself on a “date,” though, so there must have been a reason!  Anyway, on that day I picked up these mini Jello molds because I thought they were cute and a bargain at .50 a piece.  A totally random find on a totally random date.

At the time, I didn’t know they were Jello molds – I thought they were mini baking pans.  Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I found these little guys in my project stash, and some valuable internet detective work revealed that these are, in fact, Jello molds.  I knew that these Jello molds and some adorable faux succulents I got at Dollar Tree were a match made in Heaven.  And that, my friends, is how I came up with this Upcycled Mini Jello Mold Planter Tray.

This post contains affiliate links.  To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

I started by staining a scrap wood board with my favorite stain cloths.  I love these because they’re very low odor so I can stain indoors!

After the stain dried (really quickly, I might add!), I gave the wood a once-over with my new favorite find, Liming Wax.  This gave the wood a beautiful gray finish!  

After that dried, I hot glued my mini Jello molds onto the board.  I used my super hot cordless glue gun, which definitely attached these Jello molds with no problem.  If you don’t have a high-heat glue gun yet – get one!  Life-changing.  

At this point (the wrong point), I decided the board was a little too plain.  So I headed downstairs to the basement to stain and cut some “craft wood” (that’s what the tag said on the back of it!), to serve as trim around the edge of the board.  Now if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s measuring poorly.  So needless to say, my measurements were off and the wood did not meet perfectly at the edges.  Oh well.  I used my nail gun to attach the pieces and pretended like it looked OK.  (You could use wood glue if you don’t have a nail gun.)  

Then I attached some corner braces on the outer edges to add some more metal like the the Jello molds.  This was purely decorative!  Because my cuts were so bad on these trim pieces, I couldn’t even put screws in on some of the corner braces!  Yikes.

After that, I popped some floral gems and faux succulents from Dollar Tree into the mini Jello molds to finish things off.  

I bet the person who used to make Jello in these tiny molds never imagined someone would use them as planters!  

In the summer I plan to take the floral gems and succulents out, and replace them with votive candles.  I think this will make a perfect centerpiece for my outdoor coffee table!  

For now I think this will work underneath the TV in my basement living room.

If you found mini Jello molds at a thrift store, what would you do with them?  Think about that and pin this post to help others find this idea!  🙂  -Bre

You Might Like This Upcycle Project, Too!  {Changing Table Upcycle}

Repurpose old sweaters to make this adorable upcycled sweater craft! Embroidery hoop art is so charming.

I don’t know about where you live, but here in Chicago we have been FREEZING since, well, it feels like forever!  The temps have been unusually low and I’ve been craving everything cozy. 

Although the cold is annoying, I guess I have it to thank for inspiring this Upcycled Sweater Embroidery Hoop Art, because sweaters, blankets, and hot tea are all I seem to think about these days!  

This project is a fantastic way to give new life to any sweaters of yours that have seen better days!  Or, if your sweaters are all in perfect condition, buy some at a thrift store to repurpose and make these cute sweater embroidery hoops!

Supplies Needed for Upcycled Sweater Embroidery Hoop Art

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• Old sweaters
• Embroidery hoops in various sizes
• Fabric scissors
• Hot glue gun
• For the Mitten Hoop:  Acrylic felt in color of your choice, embroidery floss (I used white and pink), needle, pencil & paper
• For the Plain Hoop:  Faux greenery of your choice, chalkboard tag, snowflake tag

How to Make This Upcycled Sweater Craft: Embroidery Hoop Art

I love how simple but cute this project is!  It only took me about 20 minutes per hoop, which isn’t bad at all! 

I began by cutting a sweater to be slightly larger than the embroidery hoop.

I pressed the pieces of the embroidery hoop together, with the sweater between them, and then trimmed all along the edge of the hoop to remove excess fabric.  

If you do this and the sweater feels a little saggy, just pull gently at the edges and trim additional excess fabric.

Once I had the sweater placed in the embroidery hoop just how I wanted it, I hot glued some greenery, a chalkboard tag, and a snowflake ornament to the top of of it.  

Do you see my pretty new cordless hot glue gun in this photo?  I didn’t know it was possible to be in love with a hot glue gun, but you guys, it is!  This cordless hot glue gun is a workhorse!  I think I could hot glue anything I wanted now!  Plus, not having a cord makes working with it so much easier. 

If you use hot glue regularly, you should DEFINITELY get one of these!  (Note: if you don’t have any Ryobi tools already, make sure you also purchase the rechargeable battery to go with it!  You can use the battery on any other Ryobi too, too.  Awesome!)

This embroidery hoop art came out looking simple but pretty.  I love it!  

For my next sweater embroidery hoop, I decided to use a fun, patterned sweater, and Jasper tried to interfere with my work.  (Poor Jasper needs a haircut.)  

Once I moved him out of the way, my sweater hoops looked like this. 

To add something extra, I drew a mitten on a piece of printer paper and then used that as a template for cutting out a felt mitten.  (Sorry this photo is kind of blurry.  I was taking photos in my basement and the lighting was awful!)

Next, I freehand stitched some details onto the felt mitten – like edging and a heart.  Embroidery floss is all you need for this!

I used my big daddy hot glue gun to secure the mitten into place on the embroidery hoop instead of sewing it on.  I was worried that sewing it would deform the sweater in some way and make it look wonky in the hoop.  

If you’re not into mittens, you could put any shape you want on your sweater embroidery hoop!  And if you’re not good and free-handing designs, just look for some clip art online that you could trace.

Don’t you just love that you can reuse old sweaters in such an adorable way? 

These repurposed sweater crafts look so cute on my fireplace mantel decorated for winter! You could display these anywhere though – they’d look great hanging on the wall, too!   

Have you upcycled sweaters before?  What did you do with them?  Leave me a note in the comments to let me know!

In life it is inevitable that all good things will come to an end, and while it’s always sad to see the good things go, it’s best when they go out on top.  Thus, while I’m sad to announce that this is the last edition of the Monthly DIY Challenge, I am happy to be ending it on a high note, with my friends and with some beautiful projects that all use metal label holders, including my DIY Labeled Picture Frames.

Before I show you my project, I need to pretend like I’m at the Oscars and give a quick thank you speech.  First, I need to thank the original mastermind of the Monthly DIY Challenge years ago, my friend, Kristi from Making it in the Mountains.  Our first challenge happened in 2014 with the “Great Crate Challenge,” and being a member of this monthly challenge is probably the reason I am still blogging!  I also need to thank Nicole from The Inspired Hive, who put together our link up every single month – even while juggling a full-time nursing job and raising two little ones.  Bre from Brepurposed, who designed our graphics and media kit, also deserves a HUGE shoutout.  I also can’t forget to thank Emily from Table & Hearth who was our lead hustler in terms of making contact with sponsors and connecting us with some of the fabulous brands we’ve worked with.  All of the other ladies in this group who pushed me each month to create something unique (and many times out of my comfort zone) – you all hold a special place in my heart!  And finally, all of YOU who have visited these posts over the past three years – thank you!  Okay, I hear my exit music playing so that’s my cue to get to the project now.

Okay, so my project this month is completely easy and completely customizable depending on your tastes!  In other words, it’s the best kind of project!  You can whip up a bunch of these DIY Labeled Picture Frames in no time – seriously.  

This post contains affiliate links.  To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

Supplies Needed for DIY Labeled Picture Frames

• Wood picture frames (I used these $1 frames from Michaels.  Such a bargain!)
• Wood stain cloths
• Acrylic paint or chalky finish paint
• Chip brush
• Drill
• Ribbon
• Scotch Tape
• Metal label holders
• Screwdriver

How to Make Labeled Picture Frames

Start by drilling two holes at the top of your frame.  I used a 3/16″ drill bit.  

Next, stain the picture frame (if that’s the look you’re going for).  If you don’t want a natural finish, you could totally paint your frame instead!  I used my FAVORITE staining option (LOVE these cloths because they don’t smell at all and the color dries really fast) on the front and back of the frame, as well as the little peg that holds up these inexpensive frames.Once my frame dried, I dry brushed some dark gray chalky finish paint over the surface of the frame to give it a weathered look. 

Then I attached a cute metal label holder to the bottom of the frame.  

Finally, I threaded ribbon through the holes in the top of the frame by using Scotch tape on the ends to help me pull the ribbon through.  I tied the ribbon into a little bow and pressed it into place with some more Scotch tape.  

I popped a picture of Jasper, my labradoodle, in the frame and added a “Good Boy” label to the label holder.  

You might think it’s crazy for me to have a framed photo of my dog, but I am the woman who went to a class about how to paint your dog’s portrait.  So there’s that.  

Plus, Jasper and I kind of look alike, so it just gets weirder from there.  (Note: yes, I need a new photo printer.  Those lines in his picture are terrible!)

Shortly after I put this project together, Jasper ate one of my son’s favorite stuffed animals.  The first thing he yelled in his anger was “you need to change that picture frame to ‘bad boy!'”  I think they’ve made up now, so I will be keeping the “good boy” designation in the frame . . . for now.

Clearly you could frame a photo of anything you want and make these frames in whatever color scheme you like.  The possibilities really are endless!  Because of that, I’d love for you to “pin” this project to share the idea with others!  

Now that you’ve seen my last ever Monthly DIY Challenge project, please visit my friends to see their ideas for metal label holders, too!  I know they’d love to have you swing by.

Thank you for your support of the Monthly DIY Challenge over the years!
-Bre